Pond Jumping

2011-02-04T02:19:00.003Z

Update:

Howdy everybody! It's February 3, 2011. And yes, I know it's been a ridiculously long time. Here's a summary of what happened after I arrived in Asturias:

I went to the Ribadesella festival with Nacho, Alfredo, Julia, Jeremy, and their friends Laura and Raquel. There was far too much cider, and there was rain, and there were men peeing against walls at 5 a.m. After a few more days in Asturias, we took off for Galicia and eventually made it to Santiago de Compostela, where Laura is from. I fell in love with the city, and with the cathedral. Well, the outside, anyway. It was terribly gaudy on the inside. Other stops: Islas Cies, La Coruna, Finis Terrae, and San Andres de Teixido. Then I parted ways with my friends and went aaaaaaaaaaaallll the way back to Bilbao via Santander (which was not very exciting). Bilbao was in the midst of the Aste Nagustia festival when I arrived. Food, dancing, family fun, and blatant ETA imagery. It was here that Will met me for a quick getaway to foodie paradise San Sebastian. Pintxos, wine, and sun...wonderful. After yet another trip to Bilbao to put him on a plane back to England, I considered my options and settled on Zaragoza. I spent four or five days there, marveling at the Basilica de Nuestra Senora del Pilar and wandering around la ciudad vieja. And I realized how utterly lonely I was. I tried to keep myself occupied at meals by writing, but I hated eating alone. I hated coming back to an empty hotel room. As much as I loved the freedom of moving at my own pace (which Will sometimes describes as "ponderous"), I was really starting to feel miserable.

So I decided to go back. I hopped on a high-speed train to Madrid and began counting down the hours until I was safely back in England. The city was disgustingly hot (it was still August, after all). Nacho kindly let me stay with him, so I didn't have to find a hostel. The best part? I got to see Anne! Anne was one of my closest friends during my time in Santiago. We worked for the Santiago Times and edited the Weekend Edition together. She's a tall Dane with sparkly blue eyes and a dry sense of humor. "Thank f**ck" is one of her favorite sayings. She was studying in Madrid for a semester while finishing up journalism school. Perfect timing! It was great to catch up.

I arrived in England on a Monday. Will and I had a blissful evening together, sitting in the garden. By the time I went to bed, I was seriously ill. Two days later, I was diagnosed with a kidney infection. So...the first week was not so great. But I recovered, and a few weeks later I started writing for Examiner.com--which is where you can read about the rest of my travels (well, most of them. I got distracted by training to be an English teacher and never finished the series on Venice).

Over the course of the next few months, I visited Scotland, Austria, Wales, more of England, and Venice, and continued familiarizing myself with Oxford. I started forming friendships with Will's friends. We went to the Catweazle Club, a weekly folk night at the East Oxford Community Centre. in the Scottish Highlands, I climbed my first munro --in terrible weather, no less. We talked about the future. After a brief visit to Houston for Christmas, I spent a final few weeks with Will, and we had a glorious (and cold) visit to Venezia.

Then I came back to Houston. This was not supposed to happen. But it made sense then, and it still does. I trained with the Cambridge-administered CELTA program to become a teacher of English as a Foreign Language. After a visit from Will in March and a volunteering stint at Memorial Assistance Ministries, I found two jobs. The first was at Rice University's Glasscock School of Continuing Education, in their English Intensive Program. I've been teaching there continuously since May. The second was at Bilingual Education Institute, where I've taught on-and-off, as classes have come up. Overall, it's been a very rewarding and challenging experience. I intend to keep pursuing it, and possibly study for a master's in linguistics at some point.

In August I moved into my own apartment in Houston's Museum District. The location is rather amazing. And I do love having my own space, although I'd rather be sharing it.

Will and I are still very much together. We saw each other four more times in 2010, and I got to spend Christmas with him and his family. On the last night of my trip, he proposed.

So yes, dear readers, we are engaged and I am jumping the Pond. For good.

West to Asturias

2009-09-30T14:31:00.006+01:00

Early Saturday morning, I left my hostel in Bilbao and boarded a bus for Gijon in the province of Asturias, several hours away.

I'd spent quite a bit of time the previous afternoon in an internet cafe near my hostel, trying to communicate with some Australian friends who were visiting Spain. I met Julia and Jeremy during my time in Chile, and they'd come over to Europe to see friends who'd studied in Sydney. So we decided to have a reunion! After much scrambling and back-and-forth, it was decided that they would pick me up the next day in Gijon.

It turned out that the bus on which I booked tickets was the "Supra" class, meaning top of the line. So although my journey was at least 5 hours, I got to relax in a cushy leather seat while a nice lady brought around food and drinks. Not bad.

I arrived in Gijon totally unsure of what to expect. Julia, Jeremy, and one or two of their Spanish friends were coming back from a cable-car trip up a mountain and had arranged to meet me at the bus station. But when I got off the bus, I didn't know where to go. To the waiting area? The street? And then I heard someone call my name.

I turned around and a clean-cut Spanish guy was walking toward me.

"Helen?"
"Si..."
"Soy Nacho, amigo de Jeremy y Julia."
"Ahhhh si!"

Several weeks earlier, Julia had emailed me their trip itinerary, written by her friend Nacho. And at some point I had seen Facebook photos of him with Jeremy and Julia when he and his girlfriend Laura had studied in Australia. Eventually it transpired that he had read my blog posts about England and Wales. I guess Julia sent him the link. He also told me that he knew who I was at the bus station because I looked completely lost. Great.

Anyway, Julia and co. were stuck waiting in a long line for the cable car down the mountain, so they sent Nacho and his friend Alfredo to pick me up. Up until that point, I thought my Spanish was still pretty decent for not having used it in conversation for over a year. I climbed into the car with Nacho and Alfredo and quickly learned how wrong I was.

Nacho generally speaks quite clearly, but Alfredo's accent is a bit more difficult. And when he and Nacho speak to each other...well, that can get interesting. Eventually I got used to hearing and speaking Spanish again, but that first car ride was definitely a shock to the system.

We were on our way to Aviles, where Nacho and Alfredo grew up. Before we even arrived, we stopped off at a cidreria, or cider house. Cider is Asturias' "national" obsession. Bartenders at cidrerias pour cider by holding it up above their heads with one hand and letting it spill down into the waiting glass in the other. And they do this all while staring straight ahead. That was my first Asturian cider experience...if only it had been my last.

Bilbao (Visit Number One)

2009-09-30T14:24:00.003+01:00

My first visit to Bilbao left me rather unimpressed. When I arrived, the weather was gray and misty, much like what I'd left behind in England. Despite what my over-enthusiastic guidebook had to say, I found the city to be dull and unattractive. I had made the unfortunate decision to stay outside the city center, and the area of town I was in was not exactly hoppin'. My guidebook had described the people of Bilbao as open and friendly. But I didn't really get that impression at all. In fact, I had more trouble with sexual harassment there than I had in any other part of northern Spain.

I did manage to visit the Guggenheim Museum however, and it was amazing. The building itself is a work of art, and the installations inside are impressive and thought-provoking. They're quite avant-garde and probably not for everyone, but I enjoyed most of what I saw--even though I was exhausted from my early morning bus ride and flight.

Spain!

2009-09-30T14:16:00.002+01:00

Hello all!

As you may know, I spent the majority of August in Spain, darting back and forth across the northern coast and then venturing further south to Zaragoza and Madrid. I am still sorting through the 900 or so pictures I took on the trip, and a very pared-down collection is slowly appearing in my web album. I hope you enjoy the photos and the forthcoming posts. You can find my web album at http://picasaweb.google.com/helen.bunting.

Much love!

Helen

Dubrovnik, con't.

2009-09-18T12:45:00.002+01:00

The wedding wasn't until Saturday afternoon, so we spent the next morning exploring the Old City and hunting for a cafe in which to combine breakfast with prime people watching. In time, we were duly rewarded for our efforts. Dubrovnik is absolutely jammed full of tourists from everywhere, wearing all kinds of goofy gear to shade themselves from the sun. In fact, it was so full of tourists that I had trouble feeling an authentic vibe about the place, beautiful though it was. Of note: English tourists drinking beer at 11 a.m.; tacky Americans speaking in loud, brash accents; and various buxom women in ludicrously tiny dresses, tottering around in high heels and posing seductively on the city walls while their much older (and usually unattractive) boyfriends took pictures.

As it happened, the wedding took place in Sponza Palace, about 300 yards from our flat. We were quite happy about the location, especially considering the heat.

The ceremony was a new experience for me--I'd never attended an Anglican wedding before. It was a bit longer than I'm used to (and I've been to some weddings where the pastors have droned on and on and on), but the minister was a kind-hearted man who did a good job of holding everyone's attention. Plus, there were a sufficient number of hymns to get us on our feet fairly often.

After the ceremony we all trooped up the road to a hotel outside the city walls, overlooking the Adriatic. The walk there was interesting to say the least, because the heat had made my feet swell up and I was wearing high heels. But eventually we got there, and were treated to a sumptuous sunset meal and live music, with plenty of wine to boot.

The music was just getting really good when the band announced that they were about to play their last song. None of us felt like calling it a night just yet, so after saying our goodbyes, we made our way back to a place called Gil's Bar and Pop Lounge, inside the city walls. Unfortunately, there was more lounging than dancing, but we still had a nice time chatting and taking goofy pictures.

On Sunday, Will and I had the whole day to ourselves. We decided to walk the Old City's medieval walls, and got some great photos. It was boiling hot though, and we kept staring longingly at the deep blue Adriatic...

After our wall tour, we decided to try and find a cafe Ana had told us about. We'd spotted it from above earlier, and somehow managed to wander in the right direction from our flat. You enter the cafe from a door in the wall itself, and then walk down a rather steep set of steps to the rocks and sea below. The Adriatic was clear and cool--perfect after our long, sweaty walk. The place was crowded too. Tourists from all over Europe swam and sunbathed as kids scampered up the rocks and jumped off into the water below. Several times we were sure they were jumping in exactly the wrong spot and would end up seriously injured, but everyone was fine...

We eventually climbed out of the sea and back up to the cafe to have a drink and watch the sunset. As we were leaving, I turned back to look at the view and was overcome by the beauty of it: the horizon blending seamlessly into the sea, the white walls, the rocks. I stood there for several minutes, drinking it all in.

Monday was our last day in Dubrovnik, but our flight wasn't until late, so we stored our bags at Ana's other place and hiked outside of the city to a beach Carli had told us about. And we were so glad we did. There was a beach closer in, quite close to the Old City--but it was inhumanly crowded, and we didn't fancy fighting for a few square inches of rocky beach with the other tourists. Our chosen destination was far more peaceful, and we got another swim in the beautiful Adriatic.

When it came time to leave, Ana arranged for us to meet up with one of her cab-driving friends outside the city walls. Once again, we had to take her at her word, and it worked out fine. Our driver was a friendly man who even stopped at one point for us to take a picture overlooking the sea--his suggestion.

I'd love to see more of Croatia, off the beaten tourist track. Or perhaps visit Dubrovnik in the off-season. Here's hoping.

Helen

Next up: Spain!

Dubrovnik

2009-09-17T17:49:00.003+01:00

We flew into Dubrovnik at sunset. There is nothing quite like watching the Dalmatian coast come slowly into view, then flying straight over pink and purple cliffs down to the runway. We climbed down the ladder and emerged into a perfect, balmy evening--the antithesis of rainy Britain.

The peacefulness didn't last long, however. Inside the baggage claim area, controlled chaos reigned. There was just one baggage carousel, and the flight that had landed before us was still waiting on their luggage. After what seemed to be an interminable wait, we finally found our bags and headed to the exit.

But order and clarity continued to elude us. Dubrovnik's airport is outside the city, and we needed to get to the center. But how to do it? Bus? Taxi? We didn't know, and it seemed that no one else did, either. People were just sort of standing about, looking confused. Every so often, those who looked like they knew what to do (and were probably locals) got into a taxi or a carpool van, leaving us foreigners to wonder if we'd be there all night. Finally, after much anxious discussion and pacing to and fro, we decided to board a bus that seemed like it might be headed for the city center. Fortunately, we were right (and we spent a fraction of the money it might have cost to get a taxi).

A short time later, I was devouring my book (The Handmaid's Tale--highly recommend it) when Will nudged me and said, "Um, Helen, you might want to look." I looked out the bus window and my mouth dropped open. The fantastic medieval walls of Dubrovnik's Old City were before me, in all their floodlit glory. I couldn't tear my eyes away.

We disembarked just outside the city walls and walked over the bridge to find ourselves amid thousands of tourists, locals and gorgeous, lit up architecture. And we easily found the place we were staying--or so we thought. We rang the doorbell. Nothing. We knocked. No answer. Several minutes more of this, and we started to feel a bit panicky. Did we have the place wrong? No, it was the right address--there was even a hostel sign on the door.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a waiter from a nearby cafe scrutinize us and step into the kitchen. Moments later, a blond, tan Croatian woman appeared.

"You staying at Hotel Ana?"
"Yes!"
"I am Ana. Place is not here. It is just over this way, very close, less than five minutes."

What could we do but follow her? On our way over, we figured out that she had indeed approached us as we got off the bus outside the Old City walls, but I misunderstood and thought she was just advertising a place to stay, like all the other hostel owners who ambushed the disembarking tourists. So I told her we already had reservations. Oops.

As I apologized profusely, we followed her across the plaza and down a little street with a lovely cafe. As it turned out, we had an entire flat to ourselves--complete with a kitchen, two bedrooms, separate rooms for a toilet and shower, and a strange sort of junk room with an armoire containing linens, an ironing board, and what looked to be a crib. It was perfect.

Once we were all in the kitchen, Ana proceeded to whip out a map of the Old City and mark it up with every useful bit of information we might need.

"Maybe you like to drink beer, you go here (while drawing an x), do not go over there (pointing to another spot), it is very expensive."
"I don't know what you like, maybe you like to swim, this is very nice place here, or maybe you want beach, my friend can take you to the island of Lokrum, it is very nice."

And so on and so forth, for probably 20 minutes, until her notes on the map more or less became illegible. We asked when we should pay her. Her response? "Whenever you want! It's your holiday, no stress! Don't worry!"

And then she left us.

Soon after, we decided to find food. In typical Helen-and-Will fashion, we wandered around everywhere looking for the perfect bargain, only to end up at the cafe right next to our flat. The simple meal of fish and vegetables we had was perfect, even if the white wine wasn't anything to write home about.

We were in town for the wedding of one of Will's high school friends, and several other friends from their group had arrived earlier in the week. So after dinner we went in search of them...and found them sitting at a cafe drinking beer in the exact spot Ana told us was a ripoff. Ah well, c'est la vie.

Harry Potter and more...

2009-08-21T13:38:00.004+01:00

Two posts in one day! Wow!

After our jaunts to Amsterdam and Wales, we stayed put in the UK for a couple of weeks. Will went back to work, and as stated above, I spent the days exploring Oxford on my own. One night we went on a double date to the see the latest Harry Potter installment. Normally I don't give much credence to what movie critics say, since I usually find them to be extremely cynical and impossible to please. But this time, they were right on. The sixth movie wasn't bad, just...slow. Even a bit boring in parts. After the action-packed fifth movie, I found the pace quite odd, especially since the sixth book was my favorite in the series.

Anyway, we had another entertaining visit to the Catweazle Club, and I found the famous Turf Tavern pub, squeezed back in an alleyway near New College and the Bridge of Sighs. One day when the weather was good, I toured the Botanic Garden and photographed flowers to my heart's content. I also toured a few more colleges--All Souls, New College and its beautiful cloister, and Exeter. I still haven't even tried to see Christchurch College because I don't like fighting my way through throngs of tourists.

Speaking of large, slow-moving groups, I have decided that Spanish study abroad students might actually rival Americans in their ability to exasperate.

The weekend after our trip to Wales, we went down to where Will's brother Alex and his girlfriend Laura live, near Peterborough. It was quite a party. Not only were we there, but Will's parents and Laura's parents were also in attendance. Alex and Laura did an excellent barbecue and fed us all far too much. Then Laura, a hilarious Yorkshire lass, commandeered us all for what turned out to be endless rounds of karaoke...I have never seen someone so enthusiastic about karaoke, and I have quite a few friends who love it. We stayed up ridiculously late and the next day we were all a bit zonked.

The weekend after turned out to be just as busy. On Friday Will's oldest friend Craig came down with his wife, Sarah, and we went out for tapas and drinks. It was hilarious to hear Craig's stories from when he and Will were in high school together, and I enjoyed meeting both him and Sarah. On Saturday they left to do a bit of sightseeing, and we had a walk around town, then met up with my friend Cathy. Cathy and I met when I was living in Chile and she happened to be in town visiting a school friend (she studied in Oxford). We ambled through the lovely Christchurch Meadows to a pub called The Head of the River. She ended up staying the night and the next day we went to the village of Dorchester, just a few miles outside of Oxford. It has a wonderful old abbey, so we poked around there and then went for a walk through the countryside. It was great to see her and get caught up!

Alright, it's time to find some lunch. Hopefully at some point next week I'll update on Dubrovnik and start the massive task of writing about my time in Spain...que les vaya muy bien!

Helen

Wales, etc.

2009-08-21T12:56:00.003+01:00

Hidy ho.

Well, my internet access has been infrequent and somewhat unreliable the past two weeks, so that's why I haven't posted. But I've now got a good connection and time to kill, so I am going to plow through and try to get updated. So here goes...

Will and I arrived back at Gatwick from Amsterdam on a Thursday, and instead of going straight back to Oxford, he took me to where he grew up. He spent most of his boyhood years in Surrey, which is south of London, in Guildford and Godalming (house in Godalming, school in Guildford). We went by the house he lived in, hiked around in the forest behind it, and had lunch at a nice pub in town. We also walked around the grounds of the Charterhouse School, which is an exclusive boys' boarding school that looks much older than it actually is. Will used to go and read under a tree on one of the hills there when he was growing up.

After a quick stop in Oxford, we continued on our way to his parents' house in Wales, near the village of Skenfrith and the larger town of Monmouth. They live in an old converted barn, in an absolutely beautiful valley. We went for walks, sat around at the pub in Skenfrith, took a drive out to see the cathedral in the town of Hereford, played with the dog, and ate far too much good food. We even managed to squeeze in a day at the beach in Pembrokeshire.

Hereford Cathedral is quite grand and very old (I don't remember how old, but at least several hundred years). It's of special note because it holds the famous Mappa Mundi, an illustrated map of the known world drawn in the Middle Ages. It's quite large--about 4m long and 3m wide--and it's locked up in a glass case. The cathedral also has a chained library, which was very interesting to see. Will and I were there during the start of a local graduation ceremony, and so were treated to those in attendance singing beautiful hymns.

We were extremely lucky on the day of our beach outing and were able to enjoy spectacular weather. We went to a place on the Pembrokeshire coast called Rhossili Bay, which has a long, empty beach that backs right up to cliffs. Beautiful views all around. We drove through the city of Swansea along the way, and hit horrible traffic. Quite frustrated, we wondered what it was all about until suddenly, several RAF airplanes zoomed overhead. Their performance team, the Red Arrows, was giving a show! After that, the wait in traffic didn't seem so bad...Will even purposely pulled over for gas so we could stop and watch them for a while.

Once at the beach, we took a lazy walk down the sands, admiring the view, and watching some lucky person parasailing over the cliffs. Then we took out the kite and Will attempted to teach me how to fly it...with uneven success. It's harder than it looks. After lunch at a hilltop cafe, we took a stroll out along another set of cliffs, talking and people-watching. Eventually we decided to head for another beach, called Oxswitch Bay. The scenery there is less dramatic, but still lovely. Will even had a swim. I didn't fancy a frigid dip so I just stuck my feet in. Anyway, it was a glorious day.

Amsterdam

2009-07-29T11:01:00.001+01:00

Hello!

I'm back in action! I'm actually in Spain at the moment, but I am determined to go in chronological order, so I will start with Amsterdam.

Will and I went to Amsterdam just a few days after I arrived in England, and spent about 4 days there. It's a great city for a short break, because there's just enough to do and see, but not too much. And the city is a) easy to navigate, and b) very walkable. Plus, the flight from London Gatwick only takes about 45 minutes!

We spent our first night there wandering around looking for a good place to eat, then sitting in an outdoor cafe, just people-watching in a rather touristy square. Very amusing. We spent a good part of our first day at two museums: the Rijksmuseum, which is arguably Amsterdam's most famous, and the Van Gogh Museum. The Rijksmuseum is undergoing a major renovation, so most of the building is not open to a public. But the staff have moved many of the most important pieces into one wing for everyone to see. We liked the museum a lot because each piece in the collection came with quite a bit of historical background, which many museums don't often include in their displays.

The Van Gogh Museum was great as well, especially since he is one of my favorite painters. The museum includes not only much of his most famous work, but also works by other artists that influenced them, plus some of their correspondence. He did his best work not long before his tragic death. Oddly, he thought he was losing his artistic ability by that point (probably due to his mental illness).

Other trip highlights included the Anne Frank House (extremely moving, and well worth the long line); wandering among the canal streets; sampling foods of several different nationalities; and seeing my friend Yvonne! We lived together in Santiago for a while, and it was great to see her. We also had a little look around the Red Light District--very seedy, and ridiculously tacky, in my opinion. Another touristy stop was the Heineken brewery, which was pretty fun, if nauseatingly corporate. We got to taste the beer at the end, which we enjoyed. And honestly, the tour was so long that I thought we'd never get to the actual beer. It was just room after room of product-pushing. There was even a room with giant movie screens that featured every t.v. ad that Heineken has made. Brainwashing a bit, maybe?

Well, my time on this computer is about to run out. If you want to see photos, go to http://picasaweb.google.com/helen.bunting, and click on the album called "Amsterdam."

Much love!

Helen

Oxford!

2009-07-21T13:54:00.004+01:00

Hello everyone,

Sorry about the lag-time in posts. The past few weeks have been extremely busy! I've got a new photo album up:

http://picasaweb.google.com/helen.bunting/Oxford#

Pictures of Amsterdam and Welsh beaches soon to follow!

Oxford is a great town. The university has been around for hundreds of years, the buildings are beautiful, the population is international...in short, it's everything that College Station is not. I love my school, but seriously, it just doesn't compare.

Will and I spent the first couple of days after my arrival relaxing and tooling around town. Our first stop was Magdalen College (pronounced "maudlin"). A sample photo:

Next, we wandered over to the Christ Church meadows, near Christ Church College and Cathedral. It was so peaceful. One day when the weather is better I'll have to go over there and take a book. The rest of the day included a look at the Bodleian Library (we couldn't go inside, unfortunately), and a trip to Blackwell's, which gives Powell's Books in Portland a run for coolest bookstore in the history of bookstores.

That weekend we also spent time in the Natural History Museum and the Pitts Rivers Archaeological Museum. Both were amazing, especially the Pitts Rivers Museum. The Natural History Museum is housed in a beautiful Victorian Building that was constructed as a "cathedral to science." It's crammed full of specimens, bones, illustrations, and explanations. In the back there is a door leading into the Pitts Rivers, which might be one of the most interesting museums I've seen. Will and I decided that it is basically the coolest anthropological junk collection ever. It's even more packed with stuff than the Natural History Museum. What we both loved about it was that the objects on display were mostly grouped by item type, rather than by area of the world. One could see weapons and toys and jewelry from different cultures side by side. A fantastic idea, in my opinion, because it often revealed striking similarities between artifacts of cultures that were geographically far removed from each other. In my mind, that can go a long way toward breaking down ideas of racial and cultural superiority.

One of the great things about Oxford is the abundance of cultural, artsy things to do. My second day here, we went to an outdoor production of "Romeo and Juliet" in one of the gardens at Wadham College, part of Oxford's Shakespeare Festival. The production was set in the 1950's and not only was it well-acted, the cast were also quite talented musically! Fortunately, the weather cooperated. We really enjoyed it.

Since returning from Amsterdam and Wales, I've been exploring the city on my own a bit and learning my way around (Will has to work during the day). I love all the walking I get to do! I got a bit lost on my first day, but I have now mastered my bus route. The weather has been somewhat nasty today and one other day last week, but for the most part I've been able to get out and about. Will works near the center of town, so sometimes I go out and meet him for lunch on Cowley Road. As I said before, Oxford is very international, and Cowley Road has an astonishing array of different types of food to choose from. So far we've had Thai, Greek, Lebanese, Indian, and plain old deli-style food. I love it! Yesterday we tried a tiny Greek place called Meli, which has the most fantastic baklava ever. I've also enjoyed wandering up and down the High Street and poking around a few other colleges. Last week I went in to St. Mary's Church, which was lovely. This week I want to go to All Soul's College and the Botanic Gardens.

It's true what they say about the UK economy--the High Street shops are definitely struggling. They've all slashed their prices quite a bit. Good news for me, since I need a dress for next weekend. We're going to Croatia for Will's friends' wedding. However, I spent several hours searching in shops yesterday afternoon, and it seems that my choices are either a) ultra posh (and still expensive despite the price cuts), or b) ultra crap. There seems to be no reasonable middle ground. And another thing--the shops were absolutely jammed with people, which seemd odd on a Monday afternoon. I'm certain that at least half of those people were American tourists/study abroad students, especially in stores like Zara, TopShop, and Miss Selfridge. Sigh.

One of my favorite outings so far in Oxford has been an evening at the Catweazle Club. Started by Matt Sage in 1994, the Catweazle Club is a weekly open-mic night for local artists and performers, most of whom are musicians. Will and I went last week and it was fabulous. We heard all manner of music, from folk to indie to acoustic to Middle Eastern to raucous piano bar tunes, plus some spoken-word poetry too. We're definitely going again this week.

Well folks, that's all for today. I've got several things to do before Will gets home. We're going on a double date to have dinner and see the new Harry Potter film! Can't wait!

Much love,

Helen

Two Weeks In

2009-07-15T13:51:00.004+01:00

Hello all! Welcome to my new blog.

Two weeks ago today I boarded a flight to England, and it's been a bit of a whirlwind ever since.

Let me start by talking about the past year for a little bit. At the end of last May, I moved back home to Houston after spending eight months living in Santiago, Chile. During that time I spent six months as a writer at The Santiago Times, an English-language newspaper mainly geared toward the city's large expatriate community. At the beginning of April last year, I set off for southern Chile to do some traveling and happened to meet a lovely English boy named Will. He is the main reason I find myself in Oxford at the moment.

When I returned to Houston last year, I didn't expect to be there for long. I thought I would get a job somewhere else and move on. But it seems that the universe had other plans. For one thing, my timing was atrocious. I came back just as the job market was imploding. And I soon learned that having a degree, or even an interesting resume, does not actually guarantee one anything. It was humbling, to say the least.

I eventually got a job at a store in Rice Village, where I worked up until the end of June. My colleagues were great. The customers...not so much.

Back in May I decided to come and visit Will for the first two weeks of July. But at some point in June, I realized that actually, I didn't have to come back. So I put in my notice at work and now I'm here. I'll be in Oxford for the rest of July and then after that I'll do some traveling on my own, to visit friends and see things I've always wanted to see. I may also try to do some volunteering and freelance article-writing...if anyone knows of someone who needs content for their publication, please drop me a line! I'll post a few photos on here but most of them will be in my Picasa album. I'll post that address as soon as everything is up and running.

I don't really know how long I'll be gone...but I'm excited to see what the next few months hold.

Cheers,

Helen